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Chapter 455: Charging into the Demon Mountain

"Although the prophecy is fake, there is one thing that is true," the Noble One explained. "The Demon Mountain is a foreign being, so the only ones who can destroy it are people who are foreign beings. No matter what we do, we, the people of the Kingdom of the Dream Immortal, cannot destroy it."

"Why is that?" Chu Liang asked. "Aren't those who cultivate Dream Techniques immune to the Nightmare Specters and capable of restraining them?"

"In the Kingdom of the Dream Immortal, each successive Noble One has passed down a secret, the biggest concealed truth of our kingdom. But I suppose this doesn't count as a secret to you outsiders."

Chu Liang had a rough guess of what the Noble One wanted to say. "You mean..."

"The Kingdom of the Dream Immortal... and the whole world we live in... It's all just a grand dream," the Noble One said grimly.

Her expression darkened slightly.

It was clear that she found this to be an extremely cruel truth. No one would wish for their world to be a mere dream. Everything was an illusion. The view of the world that the Noble One had believed to be true for the first half of her life had collapsed.

Chu Liang, however, was not surprised; this was exactly what he had suspected.

The people staying in the Kingdom of the Dream Immortal had been born here, so they believed everything in the world they had grown up in was the same as everywhere else. It was normal to them, and they never had any reason to doubt it.

However, it had been easy for someone like Chu Liang, who was from the outside world, to figure that out.

"Huh?" Tang Shi was utterly astonished, Her eyes widened with shock as she looked around. "This place is actually a dream?"

It seemed the situation was a bit too difficult for the young lady to understand though...

"The Noble Dream Immortal was a powerful... cultivator from the outside world. That's what you call people like him, right? Cultivators?" the Noble One said. Then she continued, "When his lifespan was nearing its end, he chose to use his lifetime's worth of cultivation energy to create this grand dream, a dream containing his ideal world."

"The Kingdom of the Dream Immortal is indeed an ideal world." Chu Liang nodded in agreement. "The people here live happy, blessed lives. So what if it is just a dream?"

In fact, how could anyone be certain that the outside world wasn't merely someone's grand dream too? The affairs of the world were as fleeting and illusory as dreams; the only things that were real were the emotions that the people felt. As for everything else, who could say for certain what was real?

The Noble One replied, "That was how we lived in the Kingdom of the Dream Immortal, and it was indeed a great way to live. However, that ended three thousand years ago when the Demon Mountain descended. Its true form is a powerful demon called the Nightmare Demon King... It might not be much weaker than the Noble Dream Immortal. Fortunately, the Nightmare Demon King was heavily injured and on the brink of death when it arrived. Otherwise, it would have destroyed our kingdom straightaway."

The Noble One's eyes gleamed with anger. "However, Nightmare Specters are creatures that feed on dreams. By parasitizing the Noble Dream Immortal's dream, the Nightmare Demon King can devour everything within it. The Nightmare Specters that the Nightmare Demon King spawns continually invade the kingdom and slaughter our people..."

"In our world, whenever a person dies, a baby is born, so the population never decreases..." The Noble One looked earnestly at Chu Liang and Tang Shi. "But ever since the Nightmare Demon King descended, our population has dwindled by more than half in these three thousand years."

Chu Liang thought, So, the Nightmare Specters can kill the people of the Kingdom of the Dream Immortal? The elderly physician from the medicinal hall didn't mention this. If this news spread, it would undoubtedly cause massive panic. Those Nightmare Beasts... they truly have the power to destroy this world!

The Noble One continued, "The Nightmare Beasts feed on the people of the Kingdom of the Dream Immortal, and those they kill can never be reborn. After killing our people, the Nightmare Beasts grow even stronger. They are devouring the power of this dream world!"

The more she explained, the more upset she got. "We've worked hard to fight back against the Nightmare Beasts, but people still get killed. If this continues, we won't have many years left until they've devoured the entire world. By then, the dream-devouring Nightmare Demon King will awaken fully and return to the outside world.

"That's why we've tried numerous times to eliminate the Nightmare Demon King, but our Dream Techniques become ineffective as soon as they reach the vicinity of the Demon Mountain. Moreover, our holy envoys are not skilled in combat."

She finally confessed, "That's why only cultivators from the outside world can eliminate the Nightmare Demon King. And the two of you are cultivators from the outside."

Chu Liang and Tang Shi fell silent for a moment.

Chu Liang was contemplating their next move, while Tang Shi was processing all the information they had just received. This much information was probably overloading her little brain.

After a moment, Chu Liang replied slowly, "You may not be aware of this, but a demon king is incredibly powerful. Even if it's heavily wounded and on the brink of death, it's not something we can easily contend with. I do wish to help you restore peace, but I'm afraid I don't have the capability to do so."

The Noble One continued, "Even if you don't do it to help us—you want to get out of here, don't you? That Demon Mountain is the only way out of this world."

"Hmm?" Chu Liang was a bit skeptical. "Are you trying to trick us again?"

"Absolutely not; I'm telling you the truth," the Noble One said solemnly. "This dream world has many levels. You can only leave it by getting to the highest level.

"In the past, there was a gateway connecting the Kingdom of the Dream Immortal to the outside world, but the residents of the kingdom cannot survive once they leave, so no one has ever ventured out. When the Nightmare Demon King descended, that gateway shifted to the top of the Demon Mountain.

"The Nightmare Demon King has a dream world of its own, rooted within our dream. If you wish to leave, you must enter the Nightmare Demon King's dream... and you'll have to do the same if you want to destroy the Nightmare Demon King."

"I see," Chu Liang said, pondering for a moment. "If what you say is true, we will give it a try. I promise that even if we lack the power to destroy the Nightmare Demon King... as long as we manage to leave this world, we will certainly call upon our sect elders to come and slay the Nightmare Demon King."

Slaying the Nightmare Demon King was a feat that was easier said than done. Even if the powerful eighth-realm demon king were asleep, they still wouldn't be a match for the demon king. However, finding the gateway should be a feasible task.

Chu Liang did, in fact, believe the Noble One's words, as the situation was in line with what he knew. His concern was whether they could actually find the gateway by entering the Nightmare Demon King's dream.

Was the Deep Pool of Dreams really only two dream levels deep?

"Oh, that's it!" the Noble One exclaimed, nodding with a grin.

Then she lifted the stone tablet again.

The stone tablet now read: A powerful teacher from a distant land will rid the Kingdom of the Dream Immortal of the three-thousand-year nightmare.

"Give it a rest," Chu Liang said, waving his hand speechlessly.

...

The Noble One's stone tablet was useless, but that wasn't the case with the Noble One herself.

Before Chu Liang and Tang Shi set off, the Noble One gave them each a sacred jade pendant, made using Dream Techniques. It could help them stop the Nightmare Specters from invading their souls. However, it was a consumable item and could only protect them for a limited time.

Nevertheless, that was enough. At least, it would allow Chu Liang and Tang Shi to fight side by side. Chu Liang definitely didn't want to end up having to fight Tang Shi while dealing with the Nightmare Beasts as well.

After listening to the Noble One's detailed explanation of the Nightmare Beasts' powers, Chu Liang and Tang Shi set out on their journey to save the Kingdom of the Dream Immortal and, while they were at it, find their way back home... Though, the reverse was just as true.

When they arrived at the foot of the Demon Mountain, they already sensed an eerie and sinister aura before even ascending.

Demon Mountain was a towering mountain. It was barren, with not a single blade of grass in sight, and covered in pitch-black rocks, looking as if it was made of black iron. The mountain was completely out of place in this otherwise peaceful and serene world.

All they did was approach the mountain, and they could already hear sinister whispers in their ears. It was the same soul-luring whispers from the void they had heard in the Valley of Bewildering Fog. There were lingering spirits at the Demon Mountain too.

The jade pendants resting on Chu Liang's and Tang Shi's chests grew warm, helping them maintain mental clarity.

"We need to hurry," Chu Liang said.

"Got it!" Tang Shi took out her long spear, her little face tensing. "I know the pendants have a limited time of effect."

"No," Chu Liang replied, "I mean if we delay any longer, you'll start getting sleepy again."

Tang Shi's face immediately flushed red, but she couldn't refute it.

The two of them leaped onto the Demon Mountain. Black winds howled, and evil entities sprang up all around them! Specters filled with malevolent qi had emerged!

These were Chimei Wangliang[1], the specters residing on the outermost part of the Demon Mountain. They had a mystical dream-manipulation ability, but they were not particularly strong in combat.

Chu Liang summoned the Dustless Sword, and it instantly split into hundreds of sword lights, crisscrossing through the air. In the blink of an eye, all the Chimei Wangliang that had surrounded them were slain.

Tang Shi had raised her long spear into the air, but the fight was already over before she could even make a move.

"Don't worry about it. I'll handle it," Chu Liang said with a smile.

These Chimei Wangliang were evil entities, so killing them would produce phantoms for Chu Liang. They were weak and unlikely to yield anything valuable, but even the smallest gain was still worth something.

After wiping out the Chimei Wangliang, Chu Liang and Tang Shi continued climbing the mountain. Before they even reached halfway up, rumbling rang out above.

A black cloud emerged overhead, blocking out the sky!

No... it was a massive flock of crows!

"Caw, caw, caw!"

The crows' shrill cries ripped through the sky. Those who heard the cries would suddenly feel irritated, so much so that anything they looked at would make them feel angry.

Chu Liang swiftly realized that this was a mystical ability pretty much the same as one of his items, the Chain of Resentment. It made people angry, causing them to lose their sense of reason.

Fortunately, Chu Liang and Tang Shi had the jade pendants protecting them, so the crows' cries didn't have much effect on them. They just found the crows noisy.

So, Chu Liang raised his hand and unleashed a stream of crimson-gold flames that filled the sky! It was Divine Dragon Fire!

In an instant, the sky was ablaze. The flock of crows scattered in an attempt to flee, but it was too late. With the Divine Dragon Fire and the countless sword lights chasing them down, not a single crow could escape this calamity.

Chu Liang wiped them out with a clean finish.

After hearing the crows' screeches of agony, Tang Shi couldn't help but furrow her brows with a hint of pity.

Chu Liang is always so excessive when dealing with such small monsters.

Done with the crows, Chu Liang and Tang Shi moved on and finally reached a cave at the mountain's peak. The Nightmare Demon King's true form was inside this cave...

"Once we're inside, be careful," Chu Liang urged.

Tang Shi nodded firmly. "Understood!"

Then they leaped down!

The cave seemed like a bottomless pit. They fell for a long time... The fall lasted for so long that Tang Shi almost fell asleep before they finally landed.

Thud, thud.

Before they could even take in their surroundings, they heard a surprised voice. "Young Hero Chu, why are you here?"

Tang Shi shifted her gaze toward the voice and found that it belonged to Ji Lingyu.

Chimei Wangliang are monsters of the mountains and monsters of the rivers. ☜